Sunshine and Shadow
by scarecrowbabe
Summary: The sequel to "My Fair Daisy". VERY Betty/Henry friendly *wink*. This story has it all: Romance, Danger, Comedy and some surprises. Please read and review!
1. Chapter 1

Sunshine and Shadow

By Mary

A/N 1: Ok, so I took a loooong hiatus from writing. Some of my friends over at UB and IC had asked me a while back about a sequel to "My Fair Daisy". Well here it is. Truthfully I had to go back and read my OWN story again just so I could be familiar with it again (hangs head). I've promised my faithful readers I would have something good so hopefully this will equal up to that. I haven't written anything for a while, but I was reading over the excellent B/H stories again on fanfiction and decided to try and give a sequel a try.

A/N 2: If you haven't read My Fair Daisy yet, this story might not make much sense to you so hey, go read that first!  As always, the original characters from Ugly Betty do not belong to me (if they did, Henry would be back on the show EVERY episode this season that's for sure); they belong to ABC and the rest of the writers, producers, etc. I'm not making any money off this story and will return the characters unharmed when I am done. That said, hope you enjoy this story; please read and review (flames are NOT accepted) and happy reading!!!

Timeline: A long time ago in fairytale land

Rating: K for now

Chapter One

The man sat back in the hard backed chair in the tavern as he surveyed the scene around him. Loud, boisterous patrons of varying ages and social statures laughed and taunted each other around him as his eyes narrowed, searching past the open door for his expected messenger. He pulled the metal tankard from the table and took a long swallow of his ale as the man he had been waiting for strode through the door. He held a parchment in his hand and a smirk on his face.

"Did you get it?" The man asked his voice low and menacing. The messenger nodded as he handed the man the parchment.

The man unrolled the parchment and scanned over it as the messenger waited. He made no move to sit or call for a drink as he wanted to be as far away from this man as quickly as he could. After a few moments the man looked up at him as he slid a leather pouch from his pocket.

"You're sure it's the person I am looking for?" The man asked. The messenger looked down at him and nodded.

"I asked for him myself. He is not called the Black Dragon anymore, but the Duke of Kentmore; I had to pay a stable hand to find out he is the Henry Grubstick you are looking for." The messenger said, holding his hand out. The man at the table dropped the pouch into the messenger's hand as he mumbled his thanks and hurried from the tavern. The man motioned for one of his guards as the messenger hurried away.

"Follow him. Wait until he gets out of sight of the town. Then dispose of him and bring me back my gold." The man said. The guard smiled nastily and hurried after the messenger.

The man smiled to himself as he watched the guard hurry after the messenger. He was ready to put his plan into place; to find the man that killed his father….then kill him. He couldn't wait to find the Black Dragon and make him suffer.

…..Giovanni Rossi was a man who got what he wanted.

Meanwhile in Rochester, far to the west of Modera, another person was waiting for some news. She was a pretty woman, as her constant gazing in the mirror told her. She would be a beautiful woman if not for the unpleasant upturn her mouth would take when she was denied her way, or the sullen expression she showed the maids and servants in her father's employ. Yes, she could be a very attractive woman if not for the serpent of hate she carried around in her heart for the man whom she had hoped would come back, begging for her love.

……Henry…..The Black Dragon.

She shivered with longing as she thought about him. He had only been Henry Grubstick when she knew him. He had been so young and foolish. She had toyed with him, making him fall in love with her, only to accept a proposal from a Duke after Henry had worked himself almost to death buying her trinkets and jewels to court her with. She remembered the stupid lovesick look on his face as her carriage pulled away from Henry's house the last time she saw him, standing there speechless and brokenhearted.

She thought she had played her hand smartly. The Duke was even more besotted with her than Henry, showering her with gold and expensive jewels. Her father had finally found out about the proposal and threatened to send her off to a nunnery if she didn't break off the engagement. The poor Duke left Rochester with his severely wounded pride and a small dent in his fortune from the small cache of treasures he left behind with her. She had been repentant to her father's face, but scalding mad behind the closed doors of her bedroom. She spent months plotting her next move when she heard from the village gossips that Henry was now the notorious Black Dragon, a handsome and equally dangerous knight that now was seemingly heartless and at the same time a lustful man. She could hardly believe her ears. She had immediately hurried home to dispatch one of her father's "investigators" to find out.

That had been months ago, but time had proved itself a good ally for her. Word had come days ago that the investigator was on his way to the castle with information for her. A knock sounded on the drawing room door drawing her out of her musings. She hurried across the marble floor to answer it.

"You have something for me I hope?" She asked her voice acid.

"Something worth its weight in gold if you get my meaning." The man replied. She stepped aside as the man entered the room. He handed her a sealed envelope. He watched as she tore open the seal and began to scan the contents. After a moment her mouth curved up into almost a smile as she folded the pages and placed them in her skirt pocket. She withdrew a sizeable pouch and handed it over to the man, her smirking smile growing slightly.

"You've done very well. I trust the extra gold in there will keep you silent to my father?" She said.

"As long as whatever is in that letter doesn't come back to give me any trouble, I will keep this from your father." The man replied as he turned and walked back out of the room. The woman smiled a genuine smile as she sat down on the loveseat to reread the information.

"So Henry is now the Duke of Kentmore; with a sizeable castle, lands, and of course money. I should have no trouble winning him back to me. I will make myself irresistible to him, and if anyone should get in my way then I have ways of dealing with them permanently." She mused out loud as she read about her previous suitor.

…….Henry will be thrilled to see me, Charlotte Slone thought as she made plans to travel to this Modera where Henry would be waiting for her.

TBC…………

P.S for anyone who didn't guess already, Gio and Charlotte are the evil characters here. While I don't hate either character, I had to have some villains and they fit the bill.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thanks to anyone who's read this so far. Reviews are greatly appreciated and they help me and the muse write faster!! 

Chapter Two

Henry, Duke of Kentmore crumpled the message his servant had just brought him and swore underneath his breath. He had been hoping to spend the day with Daisy and had been invited to dinner at their castle; now all those plans would have to wait with the news Henry had been given.

…..Daisy. Henry sighed and ran a hand through his hair as he thought about the afternoon they had planned. He had trouble keeping his new fiancée out of his thoughts; she was truly a special woman and he was thankful every day to have her. Henry knew Daisy to be usually even-tempered and kind to a fault, but he had been sorely neglectful to her lately. The new task of running a castle and settling in to his new title and all that entailed had left him little time to spend with his beautiful future wife. This afternoon was supposed to be his apology of sorts; Henry just hoped that Daisy would understand that what he had to do would benefit them both and their lives together in the end. Henry flung the offending scrap of paper onto an end table and hurried to the stable to ready his horse to give Daisy the bad news about their outing.

More than an hour later Henry was in the sitting room of the Suarez castle trying to reason with Daisy, who was in a rare temper.

"I can't believe you have to go away!" Daisy cried, "And for almost a month!"

"Daisy, love do you really think I want to?" Henry said, "I don't want to be away from you for one day." Daisy glared at him.

"Don't try to use sweet words with me this morning Duke!" Daisy said angrily, "I am far too mad to be softened." She turned away from him and strode to the window, looking out at the family garden.

"Lady Betty, might I remind you that I loathe it when you use my title to address me?" Henry said, anger seeping into his tone. Daisy turned and looked at him over her shoulder.

"And do I need to remind you Henry that I am not fond of you using my first name in such a way?" Daisy replied calmly as she sighed heavily and turned back towards the window. Henry looked at her, back rigid and arms folded in front of her as she stared silently forward. He crossed the room quietly until he was directly behind her. Henry placed his hands on her shoulders gently and pulled her back against him. Daisy sat unmoving for several minutes in the circle of his arms until she sighed once again and turned, wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly to her. Henry kissed the top of her head softly as Daisy mumbled something against his shirt.

"What did you say love?" Henry asked. Daisy drew back from him and looked up at him. Henry smiled crookedly at her as he gently brushed the tears from her cheeks with his thumbs.

"I said…I will miss you." Daisy said softly.

"No more than I will miss you Daisy." Henry replied. He leaned down to brush his lips quickly against hers, but Daisy wrapped her arms around him once again and pressed closer. Henry groaned as he slanted his mouth across hers, his tongue gently pressing against her lips. Daisy opened her lips against his as he tasted her sweetness. Daisy's heart pounded furiously as her hands roamed against his back. Henry broke the kiss reluctantly as he lowered his head to her neck, his breath hot against her skin as he placed several feather light kisses against her.

"Daisy….love…" Henry whispered as he pulled her off her feet, cupping his hands around her calves, bunching the material of her dress in his hands. Daisy's hands clung to his shoulders as she looked up at him.

"When do you have to leave?" She asked.

"Tomorrow morning." Henry replied. Daisy looked over at the loveseat meaningfully then back at Henry.

"Then we have the rest of the day to spend together?" Daisy asked. Henry looked down at her and nodded, unable to speak. He shifted Daisy in his arms and carried her over to the loveseat, setting her down gently before joining her there. Daisy pulled him close to her as he kissed her tenderly. They held each other for a long time until Daisy pulled away to look at him.

"I love you." Daisy said.

"And I love you too." Henry replied. After that there seemed to be no words left to be said as the couple proceeded to demonstrate their love for one another.

TBC………….

A/N 2: I know this is a short chapter, so please bear with me, they will get longer I promise. I didn't want to overwhelm anyone with serious smut, but as anyone can tell you, the making up in a fight is usually better than the fight itself. I'll let you draw your own conclusions about their "making up". 


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